EUROSTAR is a World Cup winner six months before the tournament kicks off.

Bosses say they are already chartering trains to official supporters groups and expect bookings to accelerate over the next few months.

"We expect to do very well out of the World Cup," said chief executive Richard Brown.

"It takes about five hours from London to Cologne via Brussels, which is about the same as flying. But a train has 750 seats - almost the same as two Boeing 747s."

Brown made his comments after revealing a boom in the number of business travellers helped make 2005 a record year for Eurostar. The cross-Channel train operator carried 2.5 million business class passengers last year, up 14 per cent - boosting revenue 7 per cent to £464m.

"Our focus on business travellers is paying off," said Brown. "As some airlines cut out their business-class cabins, they're also cutting out their customers."

But bosses still don't expect the service to make a profit until 2008.